


Alphabet

by ananiah



Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: And nutella, Angst, Arguments, But first, F/M, References to Edgar Allen Poe, The North Wind as a character, and hurt feelings, but fluff later, he still hates swimming, hints of self harm, it takes jack a long time to say anything worth saying, sort of..., tooth is sensitive about her feathers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-01
Updated: 2013-07-23
Packaged: 2017-12-16 18:58:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 6,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/865460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ananiah/pseuds/ananiah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack accidentally makes a huge mistake when talking (read: arguing) with Toothiana. And it turns out that some problems are harder to fix than others. How does he even begin to make amends?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Autumn

            This time of year is always busy for Tooth. Sports are just starting up—don’t get her _started_ on hockey season, it’s the first week and already teeth are still under pillows in Canada—and the entire palace is a blue-green blizzard of hurried and harried fairies.

            Trust _now_ to be the time when Jack Frost shows up.

            All right, Tooth kind of understands. He isn’t busy at all until winter starts up again, just the occasional dusting of frost on Bunny’s crocuses and roses or light snowfall in Paris. She’s always busy.

            But despite the autumn rush, Tooth discovers that she doesn’t mind the winter spirit underfoot. And not just because he has nice teeth.


	2. But Words Will Always Hurt Me

            “Jack, please stop sending gale-force winds over America. My fairies can’t fly in such bad weather!”

            He shrugs indifferently. “It _is_ winter, Tooth.”

            “Bu-but I can’t have the children waking up with teeth still under their pillows! Have you seen North’s globe recently? Maybe it’s different for you, since you have almost no believers—” Instantly, Tooth realizes she’s made a mistake.

            Jack stiffens, grip tightening around his staff. “Yeah, well, maybe it’s different for workaholic feathered freaks, but some of us think about our followers as more than lights on a globe.”

            Tooth would have apologized.


	3. Camera

            It’s three days before Christmas, so Tooth is surprised to see North’s sleigh flying past the golden towers of Punjam Hy Loo.

            “I heard you had argument with Jack,” he says without preamble. “Fruitcake?”

            Where does North _keep_ those things? “No, thank you. And I don’t want to talk about it, either.”

            North starts munching on the fruitcake, and Tooth isn’t quite sure how he manages that. Those things are like little rocks. “I know it is early, but I have early Christmas present for you.” He holds out a small, silver package.

            “Oh, thank you so much, North!” She smiles warmly at him and unwraps it carefully.

            “You looked in need of it,” he says.

            It’s a camera; something called a _Rangefinder_.

            “They say picture is worth a thousand words,” North explains, gesturing at the camera. “And memories.”

            “It’s perfect,” Tooth says.


	4. Delay Tactics

            The mini-fairies are happy to see their queen flitting about once again after her incident with Jack. They aren’t so happy about the sudden inundation of the Tooth Palace with rolls of film and developed photos.

            Baby Tooth flicks her wings nervously, looking to her sisters for support. They twitter and nudge her towards the queen.

            “What is it, Baby Tooth?”

            She sighs and wrings her little hands. Finally, she chirps so softly Tooth has to lean in to hear her.

            “I—” Tooth stops short. The camera lies limply in her hands, a new reel of film half in the back. “Oh, Baby Tooth, it was all my fault!” She brings the little fairy to her cheek, hot tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

            Baby Tooth chatters in her ear reassuringly.

            “What if—what if he doesn’t want to be friends anymore? What if he really does think I’m a freak?”


	5. Elegance

            Jack flies away from the Tooth Palace with a sick feeling in his stomach. Why did he say that? Tooth probably hates him now.

            Her look of betrayal is all he can think about. He should go back and apologize.

            _But_ she _started it_ , a voice in the back of his head whines. _She_ _should apologize_ _first_.

            Jack crashes into a snow bank in Antarctica, thoughts of the Tooth Fairy distracting him so much the North Wind drops him without warning. Tooth isn’t a freak, she’s... well. She’s Tooth, right? Beautiful in a different way. Okay, so being covered in feathers isn’t exactly normal, but Tooth wouldn’t be Tooth without them.

            What’s kinda creepy is her obsession with blood and gums on baby teeth.

            He realizes now that _she_ didn’t mean to be hurtful, but _he_ definitely did.

            He curls up in the snow and draws endless pictures of Tooth’s elegant, beautiful wings.


	6. Feathers

            He’s been making up excuses for too long, a snow day in Massachusetts, hailstorms in Kansas... even though it’s September. But the look on her face sucks all the joy out of wintertime.

            Jack realizes that everything might not be in order at the Tooth Palace, but nothing could have ever prepared him for _this_. Bunny shoots Jack a furious glare as the winter spirit finally flies back to Punjam Hy Loo, and even Sandy has no smiles for him.

            “N-North, I’m not a f- _freak_ , am I?”

            He lands soft as snow outside the window. Tooth sobs in North’s arms, teal feathers strewn around her.

            North looks up and sees Jack trying to hide from view. Sighing, he beckons the wary Guardian in. “Someone is here who wishes to speak with you,” he whispers in Tooth’s ear.

            Tooth sniffles and says in a small, cold voice, “Go away, Jack.”

            Jack picks one of Tooth’s feathers up off the ground and sees the bare patch of skin on her right arm. His grip tightens on his staff.

            “Tooth, I wanted to say that—”

            “I said _go away_ ,” she says again. “Please.” Her voice cracks on the last word. “Don’t talk to me.”

            He touches her feathered shoulder lightly and mumbles, “I’m sorry, Tooth. I didn’t mean what I said.” And he flies away.


	7. Gravity

            When you apologize, you’re supposed to get this feeling of relief, like a weight’s been lifted off your chest. That’s a lie.

            Jack doesn’t make it past the edges of the palace before the wind drops him again on a floating tower. What has he done? Now everyone hates him, and he’s alone.

            He never thinks about anything, and this is what he gets.

            He didn’t think when he made that blizzard, he didn’t think when he insulted her, he didn’t think when he waltzed back in like an “I’m sorry” could make it all better.

            The teal feather in his hands is just another reminder of everything he’s messed up.

            If thoughts were weights, his could anchor a fleet of ships.


	8. Habits

            “You’re hopeless,” Bunny sighs almost affectionately, hopping up beside Jack. “C’mon, mate, stop moping about.” He helps Jack up, even though the winter spirit shoots him a glare.

            “I’m fine, Rabbit,” he snaps.

            The Guardian of Hope snorts derisively. “If you’re fine, then the sheila’s fine. And it’s _Bunny_.”

            “Yeah,” Jack says acidly, “The _Easter_ Bunny. People believe in you.”

            “And in you, too, Frostbite.”

            Jack spins his staff in one hand, snowflakes following in its wake. “Bunny, I messed up again. I’m always messing up. With Pitch and the tooth box, with Tooth, with everyone and everything I touch.”

            “Yeah, you did mess up. But you tried to fix it.” Bunny’s long ears twitch. “Let’s face it, mate, we’ve all screwed up at some point. Once, I—”

            “I don’t want to hear it, Rabbit. I just... I just want her to not hate me.” Jack slams his staff into the floor, frost spreading out across the gold surface like spilled water. “I didn’t know what I was saying.”

            Bunny doesn’t correct Jack again. “She wasn’t always so feathery, y’know. Her mum, yeah, she was a sister of flight. Her dad was human, though, and Tooth took after him for a while. Then she got her feathers. The children of her village loved it, but the parents wanted her killed because she was different. You know how adults are... they hired hunters, and one of ‘em offed her parents. Left her all alone.”

            The winter spirit shudders and says, “For a Guardian of Hope, you aren’t so good at your job. You just compared me to one of the jerks who k—” He can’t say it.

            “What I’m tryin’ to say is that you can’t expect two little words to make it all better,” Bunny sighs. “Don’t just sit around and mope and wait for it to get better. Hope’s all well and good, but it doesn’t do nothing for solving problems. Only if you _act_ on that hope does anything get done.”

            “You just can’t resist giving people advice, can you?” Jack shoots Bunny a faint smile.

            Bunny gives the other Guardian a shove. “Now _go back there and really apologize_. No flying off.”


	9. Ice Cream

            Jack isn’t quite ready to go back just yet. There’s something he needs to get first.

            “Hey, Jamie,” he whispers, knocking on the—wait, how old is he? Eleven? Does he still qualify as a kid?—kid’s window frame. “ _Jamie_...”

            “Jack!” the boy grins widely and hugs the winter spirit tight. “I’m just doing some homework. Come in.”

            “I need to ask you for a favor.”

            Jamie tilts his head to one side. “What do you need?”

            “...Ice cream.”


	10. Jovian-Plutonian Gravitational Effects

            Half an hour later, Jack is ridiculously glad he can keep the ice cream frozen just by holding it. The air around Punjam Hy Loo is hot and humid, and there’s no air conditioning inside the palace.

            North and the other Guardians have left by the time he’s outside Tooth’s window. The palace is unnaturally quiet with most of the minifairies out collecting teeth.

            “...Delivery for Toothiana,” he says nervously, leaning his staff on the wall.

            Tooth is nowhere to be found, but the pile of silk in one corner of the room flinches at the sound of his voice. “Here to deliver more insults?” she asks rudely.

            “Uh, no, just ice cream.” It’s the sweetest kind he and Jamie could find, something called ‘Dinosaur Tracks’ that features marshmallows, chocolate chips, caramel and fudge swirl, and crumbled bits of Oreo all in dark chocolate ice cream.

            “Oh my god,” Tooth says, staring at the frozen treat. Her head is still partially buried under loose sheets of jade silk, but her purple eyes are wide in shock or awe (or both). “That would rot my teeth so fast...”

            “I’m really, really sorry about what I said, Tooth. I don’t expect you to forgive me quickly.” He holds the ice cream out as a peace offering. “And... uh... I think you’re beautiful.”

            Tooth wriggles out from under the sheets and tentatively takes the cone from him. “You’re just saying that because you feel bad.”

            “No, really, I mean it,” he protests. “Sure, you’re not the conventional kind of pretty, but you’re unique. And colorful. And—” Jack ruffles the feathers on top of her head “—adorable. Feathers and all. Besides, your feathers make you _you_.” He nearly drops his own ice cream when Tooth _hug attacks_ , if that’s even possible. She smells like peppermint and sunshine and watermelons.

            “Thank you, Jack.”

            And even though his staff is leaning against the wall, Jack could almost swear he was floating.


	11. Kaleidoscope

            “...Tooth?”

            “Yes, Jack?”

            “You have a sweet tooth. And you’re the tooth fairy.”

            “Don’t tell the kids. Please.”

            Ice Cream Thursday (or so Jack’s dubbed it) is their new thing. Jack likes plain old chocolate, but Tooth loves everything, from death by chocolate to rainbow sorbet. Her favorite is still dinosaur tracks, though.

            They’ve eaten their way through a kaleidoscope of colors, and it’s only day one.


	12. A Little Less Absolution, a Little More Payback Time

            The other Guardians have noticed something... strange, to say the least. Jack Frost, perennially underfoot, is suddenly absent from their lives. Santoff Claussen’s halls are suspiciously quiet (North hasn’t come across a frozen elf in days), Bunny hasn’t woken to frozen flowers in far too long, and Sandy finds the night sky curiously silent without that familiar frost spirit.

            Jack’s a truly awful liar. He acts like no one realizes he truly detests being alone, but all the Guardians know it. That’s why he’s there. _All the time._

            So where’s he gotten to?

            Finally, curiosity getting the better of him, North puts Phil in charge of preparations and takes his sleigh to the Tooth Palace on a hunch.

            And he catches a glimpse of Jack’s hoodie and Tooth’s teal feathers among the palace’s golden pillars.

            “Yeah, you’re going to be making that comment up to me for the next, oh,” Tooth pretends to think for a while. “Hundred years?”

            “That’s a lot of ice cream...”

            For once, North leaves quietly, but he really didn’t need to. The two can’t hear the sleigh’s faint bells over the sound of their laughter.


	13. Memory Lane

            This is the last baby tooth Jamie Bennett will ever lose. Tooth smiles fondly at the sleeping boy and slips a dollar coin under his pillow. She flutters out of his window, tooth cupped in one hand, catching a glimpse of the memories held in the enamel.

            _snow falling on a frozen pond, laughter, a familiar shock of white hair, frost on the trees_

She tucks the tooth away safely in her satchel.

\--

            _Jamie Bennett has forgotten the meaning of winter._

_The other Guardians tried to warn Jack that eventually, it would happen to the Last Light, as it did to all._

_Tooth can’t stand to see the heartbreak in the winter spirit’s blue eyes. She clenches Jamie Bennett’s last baby tooth in her hand. “Just a minute, Jack,” she says, smiling faintly._

_Rolling the tooth between her fingers, Tooth recalls those slivers of memory, of frost and ice and laughter. Jamie’s mouth quirks into a smile, his eyes gazing into the distance. Then he looks curiously around the room, eyes alighting on the dark shape in the window._

_“...Jack?” he asks._


	14. Nutella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nutella, as promised :)

            “Hey, Tooth, I brought you a present!” Jack flies in through the open window holding something behind his back. “I know you like sweet stuff.”

            “A spoon...?” Tooth twirls the utensil between her fingers, confused.

            Jack hands her a container of something called _Nutella_. Curiosity piqued, she opens it, rips off the cover and eats a spoonful.

            _Oh_.

            Jack laughs when her violet eyes grow as wide as when she saw the ice cream. The nearby minifairies swoon, but at the Nutella or Jack’s smile no one knows.

            “Hey, save me some!”

            Tooth grins and says, “Get your own, silly!”

            It turns out he has two more jars, one for himself and one for the minifairies. They chitter and chatter to themselves like tiny hummingbirds, and soon their green feathers are covered in chocolate.

The next time Ice Cream Thursday rolls around, Jack and Tooth discover the delights of Nutella ice cream.


	15. Over Land

            Finally! Finally, it’s winter. Jack whoops and calls down the biggest snowstorm he can muster, and soon, dark, heavy clouds start spilling snow on Burgess’s rooftops.

            But there’s no time to talk to Jamie today. It’s December 21st, and he has a job to do. The North Wind sweeps Jack away, bringing him to the place where Michigan meets Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Uh oh.

            “No, I don’t w—” The Wind whips his words away, and suddenly he’s over water.

            Jack takes one look at the cold, choppy waters of the lakes and yells, “Wind, take me back over land!” The North Wind obliges, in a way, chucking him into a jetstream so he flies into southern Canada.

             _don't look down don't look down don't look down_

            He’d never admit to anyone that he was more terrified flying over water than he was facing down a whole army of nightmares. You can’t kill water.


	16. Polyglot

            “One snow day,” Jack says. “Just one little day...”

            Tooth sighs and relents. “Baby Tooth, you’re in charge. Don’t forget New Zealand like last time! And make sure little Opal doesn’t get lost in the streets of Prague again, she’s so directionally challenged—”

            Jack laughs, whisking her away before she can finish her sentence. “C’mon, Tooth! Let’s go to Italy!” He flies them over land from India to Europe, and snowstorms follow in their wake for miles on end. Without warning, he dives down towards some unseen village. Tooth tries not to shriek, holding tightly to Jack’s cold hand.

            “Hi,” Jack says to the gaggle of kids staring in astonishment at the frost spirit and the fairy that just appeared out of nowhere. A soccer ball lies forgotten in the gathering snow.

            “Sei Jack Frost?” one of the children asks, eyes wide.

            Oh, right, he doesn’t speak Italian. Well, that’s a pr—

            “Sì, lui è Jack Frost, dall’America,” Tooth interjects, surprising Jack. “E sono la fatina dei denti.”

            Scratch that. She speaks Italian. Wait, she speaks Italian?

            “Ask ‘em if we can play,” he says, trying to kick the ball into the air with his feet and only succeeding in icing it over with frost.

            Tooth sighs and dusts the ball off for him. “Possiamo giocare con voi?”

            “Solo se vi piace il calcio!”

            Over the course of several unscheduled snow days, Jack learns that Tooth can speak basically every language in existence. Except for Yetish. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it was either Italy or Spain. Shush. Preferisco l'Italia, perché mi piace l'italiano di più. :)


	17. Quest

            “Jack!” Tooth calls. “Jack, I’m out of tea.”

            The winter spirit rolls his eyes, kicking his feet up on Tooth’s table. “Poor you.”

            “Please get me some more,” Tooth says, “I get it at this bazaar in India...”

            “Do I look like your husband? Wait, don’t answer that.” Jack sighs before adding, “And do you know how hot it gets in India, even in spring?”

            “Fine, I’ll get it myself, when I have time.” Tooth flits away before Jack can say anything else.

            Jack calls down the North Wind impatiently, muttering under his breath. Bazaar, bazaar... about half an hour later, he realizes just how _general_ that was. He’d seen about eighty so far, wondering which kind the Tooth Fairy would visit to get tea.

            The sun is hot and relentless this far south, and Jack spends some time hiding in air-conditioned shops eating ice cream. No one really noticed.

            The Wind likes bringing Jack things. It’s kind of like a puppy, in a weird sort of way. He isn’t sure how much money the ice cream cost, so he leaves a handful of crumpled rupees and a few coins in the tip jar.

            Jack wanders around the biggest, most likely looking bazaar, and he samples more teas than he thought existed.

            Finally, three hours later, sick of the sun and endless cups of tea, he picks some kind of white tea with hibiscus flowers and raspberry. It sounded all right. Jack has run out of rupees, so he puts some tea in a paper bag while the shopkeeper’s back is turned and places a stack of English pound notes and Swiss francs in the till.

            The Wind threatens to drop him several times on the way back to the Tooth Palace and dumps him unceremoniously on one of the larger golden platforms.

            “Hey, Tooth! I—”

            She cuts him off and says excitedly, “You really did bring me tea! Oh, thank you! What kind is it?”

            “Um... white tea with hibiscus and raspberry?” It comes out like a question. “I wasn’t sure what kind you liked. I had about a hundred cups of tea today, and they started tasting the same around the thirtieth...” He ruffles his hair anxiously.

            “It sounds wonderful. You probably want to go back where it’s cold, otherwise I’d ask you if you wanted a cup...” Tooth’s shimmery wings flick back and forth nervously as she trails off.

            Jack laughs, lighthearted, and says, “If it’s with you, I do.”


	18. Rosarium

            Punjam Hy Loo is more than just a place for teeth, as Jack finds out.

            He’s started to spend more time just _exploring_ the place. And underneath the tallest tower, he finds a garden. Minifairies flit back and forth over roses, red and white and pink and yellow, tending the blossoms as fondly as they clean teeth.

            The sweet scent of the roses permeates the air.

            Jack stands in the middle of the garden, toes sunk in the lush, cool grass, just enjoying the sound of the fairies’ wings and the smell of flowers. And then, he gets an idea.

            Usually, the winter spirit can’t stay still for more than ten minutes at a time. An exhausting lifestyle, but he gets so _bored_ sometimes. But today, he spends hours in the garden, trying to perfect his project. Baby Tooth twitters in his ear, wondering why he’s still in the rose garden, but she falls silent when she sees creation.

            Jack leaves it in the center of the garden, preserved in ice that will never melt.

\--

            After a long, long day in the field collecting teeth, the Queen of the Tooth Fairies comes down to her rose garden. She wanders from bush to bush, delighting in the beautiful colors and scents.

            In the middle, where all the garden paths converge, she discovers a white rose lying in the grass. Tooth picks the flower up curiously, but nearly drops it in surprise. It’s cold as ice—no, it _is_ ice. She wonders idly how it didn’t melt.

            And even though he can’t hear her, she says, “Thank you, Jack.”


	19. Sepulcher There By the Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! Pitch just really wanted to be in the story...
> 
> The title's from Edgar Allen Poe's poem "Annabel Lee." And "The Haunted Palace" (also by E. A. P.) fits with Book!Pitch so well it's kind of terrifying.

            He’s at Jack’s pond. Robes ripped, golden eyes dulled, grey skin mottled blue and purple with bruises.

            The enemy, defeated by his own creations.

            Jack edges warily onto the ice, staff held in front of him.

            The Nightmare King lies curled on his side, something small clenched in one hand. “You,” he says, voice dry and cracking, “You Guardians have an awful sense of humor.” A nightmare creeps towards Pitch, nibbles hungrily at his robes. Without thinking, Jack yells for the nightmare to get away and freezes it solid.

            “I remember everything.”

            He hates to admit it, but he’s curious. “...Everything?”

            “The past!” Pitch hisses furiously. “The Golden Age, the Constellations, House Lunanoff. _Kozmotis Pitchiner,_ general of the Golden Army.” The last words are bitter with defeat.

            “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Jack taps his staff against the ice, sending frost crackling across the pond.

            Pitch stands up, dusts off his tattered robes, and says to Jack; golden eyes suddenly bright again, “Run. _Now_.”

            “What?” Jack spins around to see whatever Pitch is glaring at. “Oh. I’ll take the ones on the left,” he offers flippantly. They’re no danger without Pitch to lead them, right?

            “I said _run_ , you incompetent, fun-loving idiot! They’re after me, not you.” A shadow sword appears in Pitch’s hand, and he glowers at the encroaching nightmares with grim determination.

            “Aw, you do care.”

            Pitch Black actually rolls his eyes. “Oh, please. I don’t care about anyone anymore.”

            Jack Frost isn’t quite sure what just happened. And then the nightmares attack.


	20. Two Truths and a Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This. Chapter. Gave. Me. So. Many. Problems.   
> By the way, please comment! I don't bite (unless it's the full moon), and I'd love to hear what you think :D

            North likes bringing all the Guardians to Santoff Claussen—the _real_ Santoff Claussen—at least once a year. They all stay in Ombric’s giant tree, drink apple cider, and just talk. Loudly. About basically everything. For _hours_.

            Jack, he just likes to play with the kids. Everyone there can see him, and it’s pretty awesome. But this time, and probably with a little of Ombric’s magic, he’s inside, playing a game. Not the _fun_ kind of game. He doesn’t know any of the answers, and they all seem like lies to him. Apparently North really was called "The Bandit King" back in his youth. 

             “Aw, come on, Jack! Just two truths and one lie. It’s fun! You love fun.” Tooth laughs lightheartedly.

            “Okay, okay. Let me think,” he says. “Um, one. I’m secretly annoyed that Nightlight looks like my doppelganger. Two... I’m scared of drowning. And three, even I get tired of winter sometimes.”

            North says instantly, “Three.” Bunny, Tooth, and Nightlight agree as well. Ombric has long since left the party, mumbling something about studying. Only Sandy seems to take longer before settling on three as well.

            “All wrong!” Jack crows. “I’m secretly annoyed Nightlight looks like me. C’mon, can’t a guy be the only flying, white-haired, immortal, staff-carrying boy in town? No offense, Nightlight, you’re awesome, but it makes me feel like a copycat. Either MiM has serious imagination issues or he _really_ likes white hair.” 

            “So you get tired of winter? Hear that? Even _Frostbite_ gets tired of winter!” Bunny crows. “Spring is better, spring is better...”

            Tooth combs her feathers, not looking at Jack. “You’re not a copycat,” she says. “You’re Jack Frost!”

            Nightlight nods in agreement.

            “Okay, okay, guys. Someone else go before we all get into one long therapy session. Tooth?” Jack, for once in his life, is desperate to deflect attention elsewhere.

            Tooth concedes, and says as if she's been reciting in her head, “One, I love chocolate. Two, I snore. Three, I’m clumsy.”

            “One, obviously,” Bunny laughs. “You’re the Tooth Fairy.” North votes one as well.

            Nightlight shakes his head and holds out three fingers. At this, Sandy rolls his eyes and holds out two, an image of Tooth crashing into a billboard flashing over his head. The others snort at the little picture.

            “Two, right?” Jack asks.

            “Of course I don’t snore!” she says indignantly. "And I always crash into things when I'm in the field. So much to see, you know. It's kind of overwhelming." She smiles and shrugs her feathered shoulders. 

            Bunny and North stare at her in shock. “You... like chocolate,” Bunny says at length. “The Tooth Fairy likes chocolate.” Then he grins wickedly, as only a pooka can. “Wait till the ankle-biters hear about this one.” 


	21. Underwater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this came out crackier and a whole lot shorter than I expected... Also, before Tooth became the Tooth Fairy, she looked human. Then she lost her baby teeth. And then the whole feathers thing happened.

             As an ordinary human, Tooth loved swimming. As a feathered Sister of Flight, swimming gets complex. She’s not entirely waterproof, and wet feathers are extremely annoying.

            But still, today is kind of an off day for her. The hockey season’s done, and she doesn’t have to supervise everything all the time. So Tooth makes her way under the towers of her palace to the mural (repainted by Bunny) and the pool. _Splash!_ The minifairies that follow her around wrinkle their noses and fluff their feathers, trying to get the stray drops of water off. Tooth misses her feathered wings, but now she’s kind of glad they’re so much like dragonfly ones. Less hassle.

            Her eye catches a familiar flash of blue hoodie in the rose garden. “Hi, Jack!” she calls.

            Jack waves and flies closer. “Tooth? Why are you swimming?”

            “Because.” She laughs and, without thinking, pulls him in with her. In retrospect, probably the worst idea she’s had. Ever.

            He flails, sinks down into the water like a rock. Ice forms in the water, thin needles of it, and Tooth shoots into the air. Frost crackles over the feathers on her toes. She grabs Jack by his hoodie and tugs him out of the water; he’s heavier than she remembered and they crash inelegantly on the shores of the pond.

            “What was that for?” he gasps, wiping wet hair out of his eyes.

            “I’m so sorry!” Tooth wails. “I forgot you don’t swim. Because I love to swim. Please forgive me!” She flutters anxiously around him, attempting to wring the water from his hoodie.

            He surprises her by just reaching out, instead of curling away from her touch. And she wonders how often he got hugged before he became a Guardian. They’re both soggy and sandy and Jack is clinging to her like she’s a lifeline, and he’s drowning.


	22. Vacancy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys got lucky (or unlucky. depends on how you see it). The next four days I won't have time to write or post updates, so you get two today! How 'bout that?

            The cold North Wind curls around Jack’s ankles like a cat. Sometimes, he swears it speaks. Not with its own words, of course, but in the kind of way Sandy and MiM speak. In pictures, snatches of others’ conversation, even moonlight. He remembers the way the wind screamed wordlessly at Pitch when he broke the staff, the way it threaded through his hair when he put the staff back together. He says he never had friends during those three hundred years he spent alone, but that’s not entirely true.

            Still, the Wind is no replacement for an actual friend.

            Jack sighs, staring up at the half-moon hanging in the sky. The roof’s tiles almost shine in the pale light, painted in silver.

            Rivers of golden sand float down from the clouds above. Jack smiles and stretches his staff out. A flock of birds flies past, leaving warm light in their wake as they rejoin the rest of the dream sand.

            Sandy waves at him before gliding on to the next town.

            Little minifairies flit about in the growing dark, carrying teeth off to the Tooth Palace. Several of them stop by him, and they wave and chatter excitedly, some even poking their hands into his mouth. He guesses it’s a family thing.

            When they leave, and he’s alone again, the North Wind comes back. It blows a few dollar bills in his face almost proudly (he’s gotten good at reading its “feelings”), and he laughs.

            “Hey, Wind! You know what to do.” Gleefully, the North Wind picks him up and carries him back to Burgess, plopping him down on Jamie’s lawn.

            “Jack!” Jamie shouts out his window joyfully.

            That hole he had, for those three hundred years alone, it doesn’t hurt nearly as much as it did. And it never will again.


	23. White Noise

            “Jack, the aurora’s worked fine for hundreds of years,” Tooth says, staring at the rectangle of black plastic in her hands. “And I’m not entirely sure I know what this does.”

            He laughs and tosses his own black rectangle into the air, catching it before it hits the ground. “It’s a cell phone. They’re great. The things they can do! And even you have to admit, just _calling_ people is easier than creating an atmospheric phenomenon that anyone can see.”

            Bunny jabs moodily at the iPhone’s home button and blinks in the light from the screen. “Crikey. Reminds me of the old days, eh, Sandy? The _really_ old days.”

            The Sandman nods. He and North are the only ones who actually knew what an iPhone was, and how to use it.

            Jack pulls four huge books out of the white bag and says, “I suggest you start reading. My friends are _not_ going to be technologically illiterate.”

\--

            _Call him, call him_ , Baby Tooth urges. _Quick. Here he comes!_

            Tooth suppresses a laugh.

            “ _Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose...”_ the phone warbles. Jack swears loudly, and Tooth bursts out laughing. It took her ages to get that on there, but it was definitely worth it.

            He takes one look at her and laughs too, almost like he knows something she doesn’t.

\--

            _“Fly me to the moon, let me sing among the stars...”_ Tooth’s phone sings cheerfully. So he _did_ change her ringtone! She scrambles around in her room, looking for the wayward cell phone. _“Let me see what Spring is like on Jupiter and Mars...”_

Tooth flits out of the room and flutters around the palace.

            _“In other words, hold my hand. In other words, baby, kiss me...”_

And Jack made her ringtone _that_?

            _“Fill my heart with song, let me sing forevermore, you are all I long for, all I worship and adore...”_

            Of course he would feel inclined to share his emotions using Frank Sinatra.

            _“In other words, please be true. In other words, I love you...”_

“He could have just said it to my face,” she says out loud, surprising even herself. The words of the song fade into the distance, and Tooth remembers the phone is on her desk, in plain sight.

            _Missed call from Jack Frost._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, readers! I'm back from vacation! So here's your souvenir :) 
> 
> The songs in this fic are Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire, by Nat King Cole, and Fly Me To the Moon (In Other Words), by Frank Sinatra.


	24. Xanadu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update... the last two days were straight-up jujitsu, which equals zero time to write.

            This place has gone by many names. Ciandu, Shangdu, Xanadu, the summer capital of Kublai Khan’s dynasty. Toothiana knows them all.

            Long ago, this city was a wonder. So many teeth collected! But now it’s less than ruins, a ramshackle town where there once was a palace. Sometimes, Tooth thinks the city is a metaphor for herself.

            She didn’t think anyone else knew about this place, that it had been long since forgotten. Lost in time.

            “Tooth?”

            She jumps, wings twitching nervously. “Jack! How did you find me?”

            “Uh... Sandy said you might be here. I kinda wanted to know... are there any more memories in these?” Jack holds out his golden tooth box.

            “Well... they hold the most important memories you have. You have to wait for the right time to see them again.” He looks so crestfallen, she adds, “But I think maybe today is one of those days.” She takes the box from him and opens it. Hmmm... canine? Or lateral incisor? Finally, she picks his secondary molar.

            _This place has gone by many names. The New World, Terra Incognita, America, the continent no one thought existed. Jack Overland knows some of them, but the most important one to him is “home.”_

_Not too long ago, this place was untamed. And now it’s forgiving, something like what they all left behind._

_“Hey, Emma!” Jack scoops his little sister off the ground and pulls her close._

_“Jack?” she asks, voice muffled in his hair._

_“Yeah, Em?”_

_She says softly, “I miss home.”_

_“Me too. But this can be home too! Just think about all the adventures we can have. I bet we’ll find a pond and go ice-skating all winter long. Or maybe we’ll find some honeybees and eat lots and lots of honey and make all the neighbors jealous.” He laughs lightheartedly._

_“But Jack... everyone we know is back home. And we can never go back—”_

_“Hey, this is home now. And we’ll make so many new friends, you won’t know what to do with them all.”_

_“Promise?”_

_“Promise. Now come on! Let’s go do something fun.”_

            They both open their eyes at the same time.

            “Tooth?” he asks after a moment. “Did you see that?”

            She lies and says, “No, I didn’t.”

            “Um... well... I’m glad I’m friends with you and the others. Like, really glad. That all this happened. Yeah.” He laughs that same laugh.

            “Me too, Jack.”


	25. Yawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I figure that at some point Tooth would try coffee. And I needed fluff and silly things after that last chapter.   
> And yes, she calls him Snowbird. Because he brings snow wherever he goes and he flies. Also kind of a reference to The Guardian of Screwing Up series by Kaylin and Kira (Saphie), Saphie, and Kate_Anders, where Jack's codename is Snowbird.

            “Hi, Snowbird! How’ve you been?” Tooth flutters back and forth, weaving so fast Jack can’t keep track of her, wings a shimmery blur in the air.

            “Um, _Snowbird_...?”

            “You, silly. How are those teeth?” she asks, poking her fingers in his mouth without warning. “Yep, still white as freshly fallen snow!” Tooth grins and dives away, twirling around the golden spires of Punjam Hy Loo before coming to a rest right in front of him again. “Jack, have you ever tried coffee? It's great! I mean, I’ve never flown so fast before and I have so much energy and even my fairies are getting things done in half the time, aren’t you, ladies?”

            A passing flock of fairies pause to chirp excitedly before zooming away again at top speed. 

            Jack’s still parsing what she’s said when she starts on another tangent. Teeth, of course. “Hey, Tooth, slow down!” he says with a laugh, “You’re talking a mile a minute.”

            “Really? It doesn’t seem like that to me! I mean I know that I talk fast and stuff but—” she pauses for breath, and Jack seizes the chance to interrupt.

            “Remind me to never give you coffee again.” He doesn’t drink coffee. Mostly because it’s warm (and no one’s told him about iced coffee yet. The other Guardians still need sanity in their lives.), and he doesn’t do warm things.

            “Oh, but Jack! I’m telling you, I’ve never collected so many teeth so fast!” She shoves a handful of teeth in his face, eyes sparkling. “See? Oh, look at this one! Lisa Brown, 75 Webster Street, look how nicely she flossed. And Sam Wesson, 667 Singer Road, lost this one playing hockey but wow was it worth it—”

            Jack laughs again and ruffles the plumes on the top of Tooth’s head with one hand affectionately, running his fingers along the single golden feather that’s slightly askew.

            “Your hand’s cold,” she giggles, then darts off and starts calling out places with more teeth to be collected.

            He flies after her as she packs away the small handful of teeth herself, each one into its own container. It’s fun watching her work, doing what she loves best. 

            Tooth pauses in her endless circles and leans against Jack. “M’ sleepy now,” she yawns, wings finally stilling. She wrinkles her nose and says, “You’re still cold. There’s a left lateral incisor at 7 Pandora Avenue...” She yawns again, pressing her face into his hoodie and wrapping her arms around his neck. Within seconds, she’s snoring softly.

            Jack tries not to disturb her, picks her up and flies her back to the palace’s central tower. She’s reluctant to let him go, mumbling to herself when he pulls away. “Night, Tooth,” he says.

            “...Molar on... 15 Belizna Street, Russia,” she mutters.

            When she wakes up the next day, a lateral incisor and a molar rest on the pillow next to her.


	26. Zero (Or, How Jack Learned the True Meaning of New Year's)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow, here we are, at the end of the alphabet :D thanks so much to everyone who read this!  
> By the way, the newest ship in my armada is Sweet Dreams, Sandy/Morpheus (Greek Mythology).

            Most people think there's something special about the New Year. Jack, he thinks it's just another day. Nothing important. And that whole kissing-people-at-midnight thing? Definitely made up.

            Besides, North parties on _every_ holiday, even the obscure ones.

            "Ten!" North turns to the Snow Queen.

            "Nine!" Bunny leans in closer to a spring spirit.

            "Eight!" Sandy and Morpheus hold hands.

            "Seven!" Uh oh.

            "Six!" Well, great.

            "Five!" Why is it so dark in here?

            "Four!" Toothiana touches his shoulder.

            "Three!" She has really beautiful eyes.

            "Two!" Why hasn't he noticed that before?

            " _One_!"

            She tastes like mint toothpaste and green tea.


End file.
